While a lot of personalities within Formula 1 has wondered why Formula 1 would need a double points race at the end of the season Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone said he would have even opted for double points in the final three races to make the championship more exciting towards the end of the year.

This year, teams face the challenge of mastering turbocharged 1.6-litre V6 powertrains, with technical chiefs anticipating teething issues when the new technology is given its first mileage during pre-season testing.

Concerns have also been raised over the new 100kg fuel limit per race, which is set to be pushed to the limit around the streets of Melbourne, a circuit traditionally severe in terms of consumption levels.

Speaking in a wide-ranging interview on the Bloomberg TV channel, Horner explained: "I think you could see a very high retirement rate, maybe even 50 percent [of the field failing to finish] in the first race.

"Petrol is a challenge because we are limited to 100kg to start the Grand Prix with, but I think more reliability issues in the early races are going to be a key factor. And we only have five engines for the whole year."